Alta Vista

Project Description

Alta Vista is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its boundaries can be broadly described as: Smyth Road in the north, St. Laurent Boulevard in the east, Walkley Road and Heron Road in the south, and Bank Street and Riverside Drive in the west. However, the name is ambiguous, as there are several sub-neighbourhoods in this area, (see list below), as well as a core Alta Vista area, (which could be defined as south of Pleasant Park Road, north of Heron Road, and west of the eastern greenspace corridor), centered on Alta Vista Drive.Alta Vista Drive is a major street running through the neighbourhood, and shares its name. Both are named for their relative height, as the neighbourhood is generally higher than most of the city. Alta Vista is a highly residential neighbourhood with a strong community, several schools, churches, and community centres. It also has a vast amount of greenspace and parks, much of which is part of the Alta Vista Transportation Corridor Environmental Assessment.

The OC Transpo Transitway also runs through Alta Vista, with two stations in the neighbourhood itself (Pleasant Park and Riverside) as well as two just outside (Billings Bridge and Smyth), serving as a vital transit link to the rest of the city.

The General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital, and The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario are located just on the north side of Smyth Road, in Riverview, while the Riverside Campus of the Ottawa Hospital is located at Smyth and Riverside Drive. There are two shopping malls in and around Alta Vista: the Billings Bridge Plaza Shopping Centre at Bank Street and Riverside and the Elmvale Shopping Centre at St. Laurent and Smyth.

Alta Vista had a population of about 24,047 as of the Canada 2011 Census.

The Alta Vista area encompasses many smaller neighbourhoods:

Applewood Acres

Billings

Canterbury

Elmvale Acres

Faircrest

Guildwood Estates

Playfair Park

Rideau Park

Ridgemont

Urbandale

Urbandale Acres

Schools
There are several schools in the area, including:

Public elementary schools

Alta Vista Public School
Arch Street Public School
Featherston Drive Public School
Hawthorne Public School
Pleasant Park Public School
Vincent Massey Public School (on the north side of Smyth, technically in Riverview)

Public secondary schools

Canterbury High School
Hillcrest High School
Ridgemont High School

Catholic schools

McMaster Catholic
Ste-Geneviève Catholic School
St. Patrick’s Intermediate
St. Patrick’s High School